PETALING JAYA: Berjaya Corp Bhd (BCorp) has lodged police reports on the articles claiming that its founder Tan Sri Vincent Tan is in talks regarding a casino licence in Forest City, Johor.

"Our legal representative has lodged police reports on April 26 in order for the police to commence investigation on the above matter, specifically to, among others, ascertain and find out the purported 'unnamed source' who disseminated complete untrue and false statements.

"We trust the police will do the necessary to investigate this matter, and respectfully encourage any publication to be done more tactfully before making any allegations without prior verification," it said in a statement Monday (April 29).

According to the statement, the articles in question, which were published in Bloomberg and The Edge Singapore, had included inaccurate information that misrepresented the company's supposed involvement in discussions with Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim regarding the Forest City project.

On Thursday (April 25), Anwar Ibrahim had dismissed the reports as a "lie" and both Berjaya and Genting Malaysia Bhd had also denied the reports.

In an earlier statement, Genting Malaysia Bhd had said neither the company nor its deputy chairman and chief executive Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay were involved in such talks.

The full statement can be read below: